Greece - Korina Miller [76]
After hundreds of years of disuse, the stadium was completely restored in 1895 by wealthy Greek benefactor Georgios Averof to host the first modern Olympic Games the following year. It is a faithful replica of the original Panathenaic Stadium, comprising seats of Pentelic marble for 70,000 spectators, a running track and a central area for field events. It made a stunning backdrop to the archery competition and the marathon finish during the 2004 Olympics. It is occasionally used for concerts and public events, and the annual Athens marathon finishes here.
Byzantine Athens
Byzantine architecture in Athens is fairly thin on the ground. By the time of the split in the Roman Empire, Athens had shrunk to little more than a provincial town. The most important Byzantine building is the World Heritage–listed, 11th-century Moni Dafniou at Dafni, 10km northwest of Athens, which has been closed since it was damaged in the 1999 earthquake.
The 12th-century Church of Agios Eleftherios (Little Metropolis; Map; Plateia Mitropoleos, Plaka) is considered one of the city’s finest. It is built partly of Pentelic marble and decorated with an external frieze of symbolic beasts in bas relief. It was originally dedicated to the Panagia Gorgoepikoos (meaning ‘Virgin swift to answer prayers’) and was once the city’s cathedral, but now stands in the shadows of the much larger new cathedral (Map).
The small 11th-century Church of Kapnikarea (Map; Ermou, Monastiraki; 8am-2pm Tue, Thu & Fri) stands smack in the middle of the Ermou shopping strip. It was saved from the bulldozers and restored by Athens University. Its dome is supported by four large Roman columns.
The 11th-century Church of Agii Theodori (Map; Syntagma), behind Plateia Klafthmonos, has a tiled dome and walls decorated with a pretty terracotta frieze of animals and plants.
The lovely 11th-century Agios Nikolaos Rangavas (Map; Plaka) was part of the palace of the Rangavas family, who counted among them Michael I, emperor of Byzantium. The church bell was the first installed in Athens after liberation from the Turks (who banned them), and was the first to ring in 1833 to announce the freedom of Athens.
The unique 11th-century Church of Sotira Lykodimou (Map; Plateia Rallou Manou), now the Russian Orthodox Cathedral, is the only octagonal Byzantine church and has an imposing dome.
One of the oldest churches in Athens is the 10th-century Church of the Holy Apostles in the Ancient Agora. Other churches worth seeing are the 11th- to 12th-century Church of Agia Ekaterini (Map), in Plaka near the choregic Lysikrates Monument, and the 15th-century Church of Agios Dimitrios Loumbardiaris on Filopappou Hill. Most of these sites don’t open set hours.
The lovely Byzantine monastery, Moni Kaisarianis, is also worth a visit.
Neoclassical Athens
Athens boasts a large number of fine neoclassical buildings dating from the period after Independence. Foremost are the celebrated neoclassical trilogy on Panepistimiou, halfway between Omonia and Syntagma.
The centrepiece is the splendid Athens University (Map), designed by the Danish architect Christian Hansen and completed in 1864. It still serves as the university’s administrative headquarters. Next door, the Athens Academy (Map) was designed by Hansen’s brother, Theophile, and completed in 1885. The Ionian-style entrance mimics the eastern entrance to the Erechtheion. Neither is open to the public.
The trilogy is completed by the National Library (Map; 210 338 2541; www.nlg.gr; Panepistimiou 32, Syntagma; admission free; 9am-8pm Mon-Thu, 9am-2pm Fri & Sat). Its main feature is the corridor leading to the reading room, which is flanked by a row of Doric columns influenced by the Temple of Hephaestus in the Ancient Agora.
Museums & Galleries
NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM
One of the world’s most important museums, the National Archaeological Museum (Map; 210 821 7717; www.namuseum.gr;